"The Speedy Bead" goes into the wild (Wednesday)

Today, I took my students on a field trip into the wilds of a beader's life.  We had a blast!  (Well, *I* did anyway)

As you may recall, last week, I went with Lydia down Avenida B to two bead stores.  We had a great time as I observed and photographed her choices of beads.

Today, my class and I trooped to her house where I did an ethnographic visit - observation, interview, and contextual inquiry - to understand how she uses beads.  It was really fascinating!

Before class, I circulated the "Field Notes" from my trip last week, and a Protocol I constructed based on our design brief.  When we arrived and set up, I covered the non-disclosure + confidentiality + photo/video release form with Lydia, and then the camera started to roll.

For the next 2+ hrs, we talked and listened and watched as Lydia explained her beading.  Here are some peeks at what we learned.

Using Fire Mountain Gems catalog to help identify stones,
and to purchase (in the future)

She uses her laptop for her inventory and her iPad for pricing
specific pieces of jewelry

Inventory is in Excel

Her inventory is done with a sheet for each store

A student photographing the scene
(We had both photos and video)

Stringing

Almost done

Admiring the effect (we all admired it too!)

This was the work in progress

In the end, I think that Lydia was as happy as we were! 

Understanding how she keeps track of her stones

Describing how she catalogs her beads